Instead, that duty will fall to J.J. Abrams and Raiders of the Lost Ark scribe Lawrence Kasdan.

Abrams, of course, is also directing the blockbuster, while Kasdan wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in a statement:

“I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script. There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a Star Wars story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. J.J. of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right.

"Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production.”